GREENSBORO, N.C. –Notre Dame senior attackman John Scioscia and Maryland senior goalie Niko Amato have been named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, as announced Tuesday by the conference.

Scioscia tied a career-high mark with six goals and also dished out two assists in Notre Dame’s thrilling 18-17 win over No. 19 Army in the Fighting Irish’s regular-season finale. His eight points were a career-best and one shy of tying the program record. The Summit, N.J., native played a pivotal role in the victory as he scored the game-tying goal (16-16), and assisted on Conor Doyle’s game winner, which came with 20 seconds left after he forced a turnover and picked up the ground ball. He also netted two goals during a 4-0 Notre Dame run that reversed a 7-5 deficit, and scored with five seconds left in the third quarter to bring the Irish to within a goal (14-13).

Amato had a career game versus Navy in his final regular-season home game as a Terrapin, making 10 saves to go along with one groundball and one caused turnover in the 12-6 win. Amato had never had above a .500 save percentage in three previous games against the Midshipmen, but earned his fourth career victory over the Mids by stopping 62.5 percent of the shots Navy put on goal. His 10 saves were also significant in that they gave him 601 for his career to join only two other Terps in the 600-save club.

All six ACC men’s lacrosse teams earned a berth in the 2014 NCAA Division I Lacrosse Championship, with five of the six among the top eight seeds. Action will get underway this weekend with first round games on May 10-11.

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Loyola University Maryland senior short-stick defensive midfielder Pat Laconi was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honor on Monday, picking up his second award of the season in the year’s final week.

Laconi, who was named to the All-Patriot League First Team, had four caused turnovers and four ground balls on Saturday in the top-ranked Greyhounds’ 13-10 victory over then-No. 6 Johns Hopkins University.

He also scored a goal in settled offense, taking his defender behind the crease and rolling topside for his ninth score of the season.

Laconi finished the game one off his career-high for caused turnovers set on April 17 against Bucknell University. Through the end of the regular-season, Laconi leads all non-pole players nationally in caused turnovers (32) and caused turnovers per game (2.0).

The Greyhounds open play in the NCAA Championships on Saturday, May 10, when they will host the University of Albany in the first round. Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Ridley Athletic Complex. Tickets are on-sale now atwww.loyolagreyhounds.com/tickets.

GREENSBORO, N.C. –Maryland freshman attackman Connor Cannizzaro and Duke senior attackman Jordan Wolf have been named Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Offensive Players of the Week, while Maryland junior faceoff specialist Charlie Raffa is this week’s Defensive Player of the Week, as announced Tuesday by the conference.

Duke’s Wolf matched a career high with six goals and eight points overall to lead Duke to a 17-8 win over Rutgers. Wolf extended his point streak to 55 games and his goal scoring streak to 16 as Duke finished the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record at home. Wolf has nine hat tricks this season and 29 in his career, while his six goals moved him to fifth on the ACC career goals chart with 166. This is Wolf’s fourth Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season.

Maryland’s Cannizzaro netted a natural hat trick over the final 7:44 of Maryland’s 12-8 win at No. 8 Notre Dame to help secure a share of the 2014 ACC regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Championship, which gets underway on Friday. The Cazenovia, N.Y., native registered the game’s final three goals with 7:44, 1:35 and 1:16 left to play in the game which iced the win for the Terps.

Raffa won 20 of 24 faceoffs, including 11 of13 against Notre Dame’s Liam O’Conner who entered the game with the third-best faceoff winning percentage in NCAA Division I, to help Maryland build an early lead and protect its advantage late in the game. Following a Notre Dame goal that tied the game at 8-8 with 11:36 to play in the fourth quarter, Raffa won each of the final four faceoffs leaving the Irish without the ball in its offensive end of the field until only 22 seconds remained in the game.

Maryland’s Amato earns his league-leading third weekly honor of the season

GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina junior attackman Joey Sankey and Syracuse junior attackman Kevin Rice have been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Co-Players of the Week, while Maryland senior goalkeeper Niko Amato is this week’s ACC Defensive Player of the Week, as announced Tuesday by the conference.

Rice tied his career high with four goals and added two assists to lead Syracuse to its first ACC victory, 11-10, against No. 7 Notre Dame March 29 at the Carrier Dome. Three of his four goals came in the second half, including the game-winner with 2:05 to play. Rice has a goal in seven straight games and at least one point in his last nine contests.

Sankey scored a career-high five goals en route to a seven-point day to lead North Carolina to a come-from-behind victory at No. 9/10 Johns Hopkins. With the Tar Heels trailing 7-4 late in the second period, the Warminster, Pa., native helped engineer Carolina’s comeback as he played a role in two goals, including the go-ahead strike, during a 4-0 run that gave the Tar Heels the lead for good. Sankey padded North Carolina’s lead with two goals midway through the fourth quarter to help ice the win.

Amato totaled 10 saves in a 9-6 win over No. 8 Virginia on March 30 to remain a top the league standings with a 3-1 ACC mark. Amato made six of his 10 saves in the first half to keep the Terps within striking distance of Virginia and made four more in the second half to limit the Cavaliers to just one goal over the final 30 minutes of the game. Amato’s 10-save effort is his third double-digit save output of the season and 21st of his career.

Amato’s defensive player of the week honor is his third of the season.

ACC men’s lacrosse action continues Wednesday, April 2 with Maryland hosting Robert Morris and Binghamton playing at Syracuse.

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Loyola University Maryland seniors Jack Runkel and Joe Fletcher were named the Patriot League Goalkeeper and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively for the fifth and fourth times this season.

Runkel’s fifth weekly award matches the most weekly awards any player in the conference has earned in a single season, equaling the totals accumulated by a pair of U.S. Military Academy goalkeepers, Adam Fullerton and Tom Palesky, in 2008 and 2011, respectively. No player has won any Patriot League weekly award six times.

Fletcher’s fourth award is more than any other player in League history has earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. Nine players have previously received the honor four times.

Runkel made 12 saves on 20 shots on goal in a 10-8 win Saturday at then-No. 17 Colgate University to help the top-ranked Greyhounds move to 9-1 overall this year, 5-0 in the Patriot League. He posted four of the saves during the fourth quarter as Loyola led by no more than two.

Over Loyola’s last eight games, Runkel has a 5.93 goals against average. Overall this year, he has made saves on 60.7 percent of the shots on goal he’s faced, and he has a 7.24 goals against average.

Fletcher picked up seven ground balls and caused a turnover on Saturday against the Raiders, and he had primary marking responsibilities for Colgate’s leading scorer, Ryan Walsh. The Raiders junior attacker was held without a goal or assist, marking the first time in his 43 collegiate games that he has gone without a point.

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Loyola University Maryland senior Jack Runkel won his fourth-straight Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week Award, and senior Joe Fletcher earned his third Defensive Player of the Week honor in four weeks, on Monday, the League office announced.

The pair led Loyola’s defense in an 7-6 win over the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday afternoon at Ridley Athletic Complex.

Runkel made a season-high 19 saves in goal for the second-ranked Greyhounds (6-1 overall, 3-0 Patriot League), three off his career-high, and he yielded just five goals off settled situations. He is also in the running for Inside Lacrosse’s Brine National Player of the Week.

Over Loyola’s last five games, Runkel has played to a 5.25 goals against average and made saves on 70.9 percent of the shots on goal he has faced. This year, in seven games, Runkel has allowed a 7.27 goals against average and made saves 61.8 percent of the time. His overall save percentage is fourth nationally, and his goals against average is seventh.

Fletcher was matched up against his former high school teammate John Glesener, the Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Glesener took 22 shots in the game, but most were from long-range, and he put only seven on goal. Runkel made saves on five of those shots, and Glesner finished with just two goals.

Fletcher also picked up five ground balls, all contested in traffic to help the Greyhounds to a 34-25 advantage in pickups. He leads the team with 30 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers this season.

Loyola is back in action midweek, playing at Georgetown University on Wednesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. in a game that will air live on CBS Sports Network.

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – For the second week in a row, three Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse players won weekly honors from the Patriot League. Matt Sawyer, Joe Fletcher and Jack Runkel won the offensive, defensive and goalkeepers of the week honors on Monday following the Greyhounds’ 14-7 win on Sunday night over then-No. 4 Duke University.

Loyola (5-1 overall) moved up to a tie for second in the USILA coaches’ poll and second outright in the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse andLacrosse Magazine media rankings.

Sawyer tripled his previous career-high on Sunday night against the Blue Devils, scoring a game-best six goals for Loyola. He tallied four goals before halftime, helping the Greyhounds to an 8-4 lead at the break, and he tallied extra-man goals in both halves.

Entering the game, the Waxhaw, N.C., native entered the game with eight total goals, four last season and four in the Greyhounds’ first five this year. His previous best of two goals came in the season-opener at the University of Virginia.

Fletcher’s defensive honor is his second in three weeks. Against Duke, he picked up seven ground balls, helping the Greyhounds win the possession battle, and he caused a turnover. He had primary man marking responsibilities for the Blue Devils’ Jordan Wolf. The All-American entered the game leading Duke with 12 goals and five assists, but Fletcher held him to one goal.

Runkel earned his third-straight Goalkeeper of the Week honor, making nine saves against the Blue Devils while yielding just seven goals. Over the Greyhounds’ last four games, wins against Towson, Holy Cross, Lehigh and Duke, the senior from Fairfield, Conn., has directed the defense in allowing only 20 goals while he has been on the field.

Loyola steps back into Patriot League play this weekend when it hosts the U.S. Military Academy at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, at Ridley Athletic Complex.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Following a win at top-ranked Duke, Maryland senior midfielder Mike Chanenchuk has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week and senior goalkeeper Niko Amato earns his second straight Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week nod, as announced Tuesday by the league.

Chanenchuk registered a career-high six points on a career-best five goals and one assist to lead the Terps to a 10-6 win over No. 1 Duke. The Poquott, N.Y., native scored Maryland’s first two goals and then tallied his three others, including the game winner, during the Terps’ game-deciding 7-0 run. With the five goals, Chanenchuk now has 31 career hat tricks and 23 career multi-goal games.

Amato was the difference in the Terps’ 10-6 win over the top-ranked Blue Devils, turning in a season-high 17-save performance. The senior made four of his saves in the third quarter when Duke managed just five shots. He was the anchor of the defensive effort that saw Maryland hold the Blue Devils scoreless for a stretch of 26:26 from the 7:58 mark of the second quarter to 14:17 of the fourth. Overall, Amato and the Terrapin defense allowed just one Blue Devil goal over the game’s final 37:58. With his 17-save performance Amato also became just the third goalie in Maryland history to reach the 500-save mark for his career. Amato now stands at 516 saves.

ACC men’s lacrosse action continues Friday as No. 8/6 North Carolina plays at No. 14/13 Princeton at 5:30 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.

Pontrello and Runkel earned their honors for the second week in a row, while Laconi is the second Greyhound in as many weeks to receive the Defensive Player of the Week honor, following in the footsteps of fellow co-captain Joe Fletcher.

Laconi scored a pair of goals in the game at Lehigh, matching his career-high set just over a week before in a game against Towson Unviersity. He also caused a turnover and was part of a Loyola defense that held Lehigh to 29 shots and only 20 on goal.

Pontrello recorded his fifth multi-point outing in as many games this year and his fourth in a row with three or more goals. The junior attacker scored four goals, all in the first half, including three in a row during a second quarter that saw Loyola outscore the Mountain Hawks, 4-0. He has scored 19 goals this season, already eclipsing his previous seasonal best of 16 from last year. His 3.8 goals per game are best in the Patriot League and fifth in the NCAA.

Runkel was tabbed with the weekly goalkeeper honor for the second consecutive time after making 13 saves and allowing just seven Lehigh goals on Saturday. In Loyola’s last three games, Runkel has yielded only 12 goals to Towson, Holy Cross and Lehigh. He has played to a 7.81 goals against average and a .585 saves percentage.

Loyola, which moved up to No. 5 nationally in the USILA Coaches and Warrior/Inside Lacrosse Media Polls and fourth in the Lacrosse Magazine rankings, hosts No. 4 Duke University at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, in a game that will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Duke senior attackman Jordan Wolf and Maryland senior goalie Niko Amato have been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, as announced Tuesday by the conference.

Wolf totaled 10 points on seven goals and three assists to lead the Blue Devils to a pair of wins last week. The Wynnewood, Pa., native posted hat tricks in back-to-back games with three goals in a 9-6 win over No. 16/18 Penn and four goals in a 14-6 victory against Stony Brook. Wolf added three assists against the Seawolves to match his single-game career high of seven points.

Wolf has registered at least three points in each of Duke’s four wins this season, while the Blue Devils are 4-0 for the first time since the 2008 season.

Amato made 11 saves in a 16-8 win at No. 2/1 Syracuse on Feb. 22 while helping to hold a dynamic Syracuse offense to 10 goals below its season average. Included in his 11 saves were two on key non-releasable penalties on Maryland. Amato gave up goals on two of Syracuse’s first three shots, but only allowed three more goals in a span of 37:44. The Orange’s final three goals came when the game was out of reach for the Orange as Maryland held a 16-5 lead.